Synchron MIRx Wide vs Narrow

[Pixelpoet1985]

Question for Dietz:

I like the wide orientation of the Synchron Stage in MIR Pro in general, but prefer the more classical sound of the narrow MIRx. What's best to adapt the settings without much moving the instruments?

1. Change the microphone settings. 
2. Just make it more wet and reduce the level of the secondary microphone, as in the narrow MIRx.
3. In addition to 2) also use the microphone setup of the narrow MIRx. I'm not sure if the narrow microphone setup would sound ideal for the wide orientation. 

[Dietz]

- Increase the overall wetness of the "wide" project. 

- Use the Character Presets I created for the classical "portrait" setup for instruments in your "wide" project.

- You could also try to export the whole RoomEQ Bank from the "Portrait" setup and import it in your "wide" project. The slots will match, but it's possible that the really specific EQs will do more harm than they will help.

- I wouldn't interchange mic settings, although it's technically possible, of course.

HTH,

[Pixelpoet1985]

Thanks.

@Another User said:

- You could also try to export the whole RoomEQ Bank from the "Portrait" setup and import it in your "wide" project. The slots will match, but it's possible that the really specific EQs will do more harm than they will help

If I move an instrument in your "wide" setup to a different location, would it need a different RoomEQ setting for this new position? Or is the RoomEQ dependent on the venue no matter where the instrument is positioned?

[Dietz]

Darn!!! You've caught me at something there. ;-D I've been working with the development versions of MIR Pro and MIR 3D for too long, it seems. Admittedly, I've forgotten that MIRx' Character Presets are tied to their respective Venues in MIR Pro. Sorry for that!

Re: RoomEQ: Each setting will always impact the whole Venue, of course - that's why there's the option to assign different RoomEQ settings to different sources (... 32 of them). In case of MIRx I made sure that their slot numbers are the same for all MIRx Venues, that's why you should be able to interchange them. Of course they weren't adapted for any other Venue when you port them over. But you can still give it a try in case of Synchron Stage's MIRx presets as the room itself is the same, even if it's presented from a different angle.

... in the end, all of this is experimental. You will have to fine-tune your "hybrid" setup by ear anyway. :-)

[Pixelpoet1985]

Thanks, again. I figured out another way, because either increasing the secondary microphone or increasing the overall wetness didn't achieve in the sound I was looking for.

I reduced the "dry offset" parameter of the main microphone for all three capsules (about 2 dB). Was this a good idea? What exactly does it do? Could this be compared to the real world scenario in which you reduce the amount of spot microphone?

Maybe this option wouldn't be appropriate for all instruments, but especially for instruments in the front (e.g. Dimension Strings) it really helps, in my opinion.

[Dietz]

The Global Dry/Wet Offset is just that: It simply changes the ratio of dry and wet signals for all instruments at once. Center position is default (no changes). If you push the fader to the left you mix will get more dry signal. Push it to the right for more overall wetness. Nothing too fancy, actually. :-)

BTW: The value display is in percent, not in dB.

[Pixelpoet1985]

Dietz, I know. But I wasn't talking about the "global" dry/wet offset. I meant the "dry offset" when you enter the microphone/capsule configuration of the main microphone.

What does this "dry offset" do?

[Dietz]

Oh sorry, I misunderstood you.

The "Dry Offset" parameter in MIR Pro's Output Format Editor does something similar, but for individual capsules. Especially in surround setups*) it might happen that the dry signal is seemingly to obvious in the rear channels. In these (and similar) scenarios we can lower its volume by means of this parameter.

*) ... from one Microphone Position. This won't happen when you use the Secondary Mic for the rear channels.